Safety/anti-theft leash for loss-prevention and anti-theif

ABSTRACT

A safety/anti-theft leash for securing a mobile device includes an adjustable armband, a strap having an adjustable unit that expands or shrinks an opening surrounded by the strap, and a connector coupled between the armband and the strap. The opening may be expanded to receive the mobile device and shrunk to secure the mobile device to the leash.

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit thereof from U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/170,207 filed on Jun. 3, 2015,titled Safety Leash, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to a consumer product, and morespecifically the disclosure relates to a safety/anti-theft leash, andanti-drop features for adults, teens and children.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Mobile electronic devices, such as, for example, mobile phones,smartphones, tablets, e-book readers, notebook computers, personalnavigation systems, portable media players, fitness tracking devices,and the like have become more of a necessity in modern life. Many peopleown one or more of such mobile electronic devices and frequently usethem for reading, listening, studying, and learning at home. Mobiledevices are also frequently used while traveling and commuting to andfrom work via public transportation. The mobile devices also have becomeone of the most stolen or lost personal items. Considering the amount ofsensitive information and personal data that may be stored in mostmobile devices, stolen or lost devices may lead to other more seriouscrimes, such as, for example, identity thefts, unauthorized onlinepurchases, unsolicited emails and phone calls, and the like.Accordingly, there is a need for preventing mobile electronic devicesfrom being snatched or dropped by adults or children, which could happenin a blink of an eye. Also, the safety leash will prevent mobile devicesfrom being stolen or lost, which will reduce the need for a replacementdevice, whereby by saving corporations millions of dollars.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a safety/anti-theft leashfor securing a mobile device, which includes an adjustable armband and astrap having an adjustable unit that expands or shrinks an openingsurrounded by the strap; and with or without a connector coupled betweenthe armband and the strap. The opening is expanded to receive the mobiledevice and shrunk to secure the mobile device to the leash.

The adjustable armband may include at least one of these fabrics:synthetic fabric, natural fabric, organic fabric, natural leather,artificial leather, rubber, rubberized plastic, and wire.

The adjustable armband may include an adjustable fastener.

The adjustable fastener may include at least one of a hook-and-loopfastener, a wrist fastener, and a cam buckle.

The adjustable fastener may include the hook-and-loop fastener. Thehook-and-loop fastener may include hooks placed on an inner surface anda first end portion of the adjustable armband, and loops placed on anouter surface and a second end portion of the adjustable armband.

The adjustable armband may be about 12 inches long, and the hooks andthe loops may be about 3.5 inches long.

The strap may include a first layer and a second layer connected to eachother at and extending between a first end and a second end of thestrap, and the first end of the strap may be connected to the connector.

The strap may include an adjusting unit that engages the strap, and alocation of the adjusting unit on the strap may decide a size of anopening surrounded by the strap.

The adjusting unit may include a sliding buckle, and the opening may beenlarged when the sliding buckle is moved toward the first end of thestrap, and the opening may be shrank when the sliding buckle is movedtoward the second end of the strap.

The strap may be about 12 inches to about 24 inches long. The strap mayinclude at least one of a cam strap, a ring belt and a ratchet strap.

The connector comprises a swivel connector. The swivel connector may beat least one of a swivel ring connectors, a double-eye swivel ring, abell-bearing swivel, and a swivel hoist ring.

The swivel connector may be a swivel ring connector, which may include afirst ring connected to the adjustable armband, a second ring connectedto the strap, a swivel base coupled between the first ring and secondring. The swivel base may allow the first ring and the second ringrotate independently from each other.

The mobile device may include the safety/anti-theft leash.

The mobile device may be at least one of a mobile phone, a smartphone, atablet (e.g., iPad™), an e-book reader, a notebook computer, a personalnavigation system, a portable media player, and a fitness trackingdevice.

The mobile device may include a cover having a folding line, and thestrap may be placed to align with the folding line.

The mobile device may include a hinge line, and the strap may be placedto align with the hinge line.

Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the disclosure maybe set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detaileddescription, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood thatboth the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detaileddescription are exemplary and intended to provide further explanationwithout limiting the scope of the disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure andtogether with the detailed description serve to explain the principlesof the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of thedisclosure in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamentalunderstanding of the disclosure and the various ways in which it may bepracticed. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows an example of a safety/anti-theft leash, constructedaccording to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the safety/anti-theft leash connected to atablet.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the safety/anti-theft leash connected to anotebook computer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereofare explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodimentsand examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and detailed in the following description. It should be notedthat the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawnto scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with otherembodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if notexplicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components andprocessing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscurethe embodiments of the disclosure. The examples used herein are intendedmerely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the disclosuremay be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art topractice the embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the examplesand embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope ofthe disclosure. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numeralsrepresent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

The terms “including,” “comprising” and variations thereof, as used inthis disclosure, mean “including, but not limited to,” unless expresslyspecified otherwise.

The terms “a,” “an,” and “the,” as used in this disclosure, means “oneor more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

Devices that are in communication with each other need not be incontinuous communication with each other, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with eachother may communicate directly or indirectly through one or moreintermediaries.

Although process steps, method steps, or the like, may be described in asequential order, such processes and methods may be configured to workin alternate orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps thatmay be described does not necessarily indicate a requirement that thesteps be performed in that order. The steps of the processes or methodsdescribed herein may be performed in any order practical. Further, somesteps may be performed simultaneously.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readilyapparent that more than one device or article may be used in place of asingle device or article. Similarly, where more than one device orarticle is described herein, it will be readily apparent that a singledevice or article may be used in place of the more than one device orarticle. The functionality or the features of a device may bealternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are notexplicitly described as having such functionality or features.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a safety/anti-theft leash 100 for securing amobile electronic device, such as, for example, a mobile phone, asmartphone, a tablet, an e-book reader, a notebook computer, a personalnavigation system, a portable media player, a fitness a trackingdevices, and the like, which is constructed according to an embodimentof the disclosure. FIGS. 2 and 3 show the safety/anti-theft leash 100 inaction to secure various mobile devices, such as, for example, a tablet10 and a notebook computer 20.

Referring to FIG. 1, the leash 100 may include an armband 110, a strapor wire 120, a connector 130, and/or the like. The armband 110 may beconfigured to be wearable on a user's wrist or arm. The armband 110 maybe made of essentially any material and may be of any size, shape orcolor, in order to make the armband 110 comfortable to wear and toprevent or reduce skin irritations or damage, such as, for example,cutting, scraping, tearing or the like. For example, the armband 110 maybe made of soft material, such as, for example, natural fabric,synthetic fabric, leather, artificial leather, rubber, rubberizedplastic, wire and/or the like,

The armband 110 may be adjustable to provide precise or snug fit tousers of all ages with various arm or wrist sizes. For example, thearmband 110 may include an adjustable fastener 112, such as, forexample, a hook-and-loop fastener, a wrist fastener, a cam buckle, orthe like. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the fastener 112 may be ahook-and-loop fastener. The hook-and-loop fastener 112 may include hooks112 a and loops 112 b, which may be placed at both end portions of thearmband 110, respectively. The hooks 112 a and loops 112 b may beattached on inner and outer surfaces of the armband 110, respectively,for example, by sewing, gluing, and/or the like. The hooks 112 a andloops 112 b may be substantially long enough to provide precise fit. Forexample, the armband 110 may be about 12 inches long and about an inchwide, and the hooks 112 a and the loops 112 b may be about 3.5 incheslong. The armband 110 may be adjusted to be about 6 inches long fortoddlers and adjusted to be about 11 inches long for adults.

The strap 120 may be configured to engage a mobile device, such as, forexample, tablet 10 or notebook computer 20, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,respectively. One end of the strap may be connected to the connector130. The strap 120 may have a double layer structure. For example, thestrap 120 may include a first layer 122 a and a second layer 122 b. Thefirst and second layers 122 a and 122 b may be connected to each otherat both ends of the strap 120, and a mobile device may be inserted intoan opening 124 between the first and second layers 122 a, 112 b.

The strap 120 may include an adjusting unit 126, which may be used toadjust a size of the opening 124. The adjusting unit 126 may be asliding buckle. The adjusting unit 126 may also include e.g., belt,adhesive strap, and the like. The sliding buckle 126 may engage bothfirst and second layers 122 a, 122 b. Portions of the first and secondlayers 122 a, 122 b that engage the sliding buckle 126 may be stackedtogether and conjoined. A location of the sliding buckle 126 on thestrap 120 may decide a size of the opening 124. For example, the usermay slide the sliding buckle 126 toward the connector 130 to expand theopening 124. To shrink the opening 124, the user may move the slidingbuckle 126 away from the connector 130.

Alternatively, the strap 120 may include a cam strap, a ring belt, aratchet strap, or the like, which may allow to adjust a size of theopening 124. Also, instead of the strap 120, a chord, a wire, a noose,or the like may be used to engage the mobile devices 10, 20. The strap120 may be about 12 inches to about 24 inches long. The strap 120 may beless than 12 inches or more than 24 inches long.

The connector 130 may be coupled between the armband 110 and the strap120. The connector 130 may be a swivel connector, such as, for example,a swivel ring connector (shown in FIG. 1), a double-eye swivel ring, abell-bearing swivel, a swivel hoist ring, or the like. The swivel ringconnector 130 may include a first ring 132 connected to the armband 110,a second ring 134 connected to the strap 120, and a swivel base 136coupled between the first ring 132 and the second ring 134. The swivelbase 136 may allow the first ring 132 and the second ring 134 to rotateindependently. Therefore, the user may turn his or her arm withouttangling the strap 120. Alternatively, the connector 130 may be anon-swiveling connector, such as, for example, a ring made of metal orother rigid material, or the like. The strap 120 may be directlyconnected to armband by, for example, sewing, gluing, riveting, and/orthe like.

FIG. 2 shows the tablet 10 secured to the leash 100. The tablet 10 maybe configured to be attached to a foldable cover 12, which may include afront cover 14 and a folding line 16. To attach the leash 100 to thetablet 10, the opening 124 (shown in FIG. 1) of the strap 120 may beenlarged, for example, by moving the adjusting unit 126 toward theconnector 130, and the front cover 14 of the foldable cover 12 may beinserted into the opening 124. The strap 120 may then be positioned toalign with the folding line 16 of the foldable cover 12, and the slidingbuckle 126 may be pushed or pulled to shrink the opening 124 until thefolding cover 12 is tightly held between the first and second layers 122a, 122 b (shown in FIG. 1) of the strap 120.

FIG. 3 shows the notebook computer 20 secured to the leash 100. Theopening 124 (shown in FIG. 1) may be enlarged by sliding the adjustingunit 126 toward the connector 130, and a screen portion 22 of thenotebook 20 may be inserted into the opening 124. The strap 120 may thenbe positioned to align with a hinge line 24 of the notebook 20, and theadjusting unit 126 may then be pushed or pulled to secure the notebook20 to the strap 120.

Once the user wears the leash 100 and secures the tablet 10 or thenotebook computer 20 with the strap 120, a criminal cannot take thetablet 10 or the notebook computer 20 away from the user without pullingthe user's arm. Hence, the user may rest assured that his or her mobiledevice cannot be taken away without alerting the user. Also, the leash100 may function as a visual warning to criminals, thereby deterring andreducing crimes.

While the disclosure has been described in terms of exemplaryembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosurecan be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of theappended claim, drawings and attachment. The examples provided hereinare merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list ofall possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of thedisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A safety/anti-theft leash for securing a mobiledevice, comprising: an adjustable armband; a strap having an adjustableunit that expands or shrinks an opening surrounded by the strap; and aconnector coupled between the armband and the strap, wherein the openingis expanded to receive the mobile device and shrunk to secure the mobiledevice to the leash.
 2. The safety/anti-theft leash of claim 1, whereinthe adjustable armband comprises at least one of fabric, syntheticfabric, leather, artificial leather, rubber, rubberized plastic, andwire.
 3. The safety/anti-theft leash of claim 1, wherein the adjustablearmband comprises an adjustable fastener.
 4. The safety/anti-theft leashof claim 3, wherein the adjustable fastener comprises at least one of ahook-and-loop fastener, a wrist fastener, and a cam buckle.
 5. Thesafety/anti-theft leash of claim 4, wherein the adjustable fastenercomprises the hook-and-loop fastener, wherein the hook-and-loop fastenercomprises: hooks placed on an inner surface and a first end portion ofthe adjustable armband; and loops placed on an outer surface and asecond end portion of the adjustable armband.
 6. The safety/anti-theftleash of claim 3, wherein the adjustable armband is about 12 incheslong, and the hooks and the loops are about 3.5 inches long.
 7. Thesafety/anti-theft leash of claim 1, wherein the strap comprises a firstlayer and a second layer connected to each other at and extendingbetween a first end and a second end of the strap, and wherein the firstend of the strap is connected to the connector.
 8. The safety/anti-theftleash of claim 7, wherein the strap comprises an adjusting unit thatengages the strap, and wherein a location of the adjusting unit on thestrap defines a size of an opening surrounded by the strap.
 9. Thesafety/anti-theft leash of claim 8, wherein the adjusting unit comprisesa sliding buckle, and wherein the opening is enlarged when the slidingbuckle is moved toward the first end of the strap, and the opening isshrunk when the sliding buckle is moved toward the second end of thestrap.
 10. The safety/anti-theft leash of claim 7, wherein the strap isabout 12 inches to about 24 inches long.
 11. The safety/anti-theft leashof claim 1, wherein the strap comprises at least one of a cam strap, aring belt and a ratchet strap.
 12. The safety/anti-theft leash of claim1, wherein the connector comprises a swivel connector.
 13. Thesafety/anti-theft leash of claim 12, wherein the swivel connector is atleast one of a swivel ring connectors, a double-eye swivel ring, abell-bearing swivel, and a swivel hoist ring.
 14. The safety/anti-theftleash of claim 13, wherein the swivel connector is a swivel ringconnector, which comprises: a first ring connected to the adjustablearmband; a second ring connected to the strap; and a swivel base coupledbetween the first ring and second ring, wherein the swivel base allowsthe first ring and the second ring to rotate independently from eachother.
 15. The mobile device comprising the safety/anti-theft leash ofclaim
 1. 16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the mobile device isat least one of a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet, an e-bookreader, a notebook computer, a personal navigation system, a portablemedia player, and a fitness tracking device.
 17. The mobile device ofclaim 16, wherein the mobile device comprises a cover having a foldingline, and the strap is placed to align with the folding line.
 18. Themobile device of claim 16, wherein the mobile device has a hinge line,and the strap is placed to align with the hinge line.